Pirates again!

From the Statesman, Calcutta, yesterday's report:

Navy foils pirate attack, 23 captured

Statesman News Service
NEW DELHI, Dec. 13: Striking another blow against the pirates infesting the waters off the Horn of Africa, an Indian Navy warship not only repulsed an attack on a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden, but nabbed 23 Somali and Yemeni sea brigands.
The pirates, in three boats, were attempting to hijack the Ethopian-flagged merchant vessel around noon today, when the destroyer INS Mysore intervened and repulsed the attack, a Navy spokesman said here.
The incident took place about 150 nautical miles off Aden.
After the Mysore picked up a distress call from the merchant vessel, MV Gibe, at around 11 a.m. saying it was under attack, it immediately lauched its helicopter and headed for the scene
On sighting the helicopter and the Mysore, the pirates broke off their attack and attempted to escape, but the warship chased them down. Marine commandos boarded two of the pirate vessels to nab 12 Somali and 11 Yemeni pirates. Nine assault rifles, a grenade launcher, 13 fully loaded magazines and a GPS receiver were seized from the pirates, the Navy spokesman said.
The larger boat, a 10-metre dhow, is named the Salahaddin. It had a smaller boat, a skiff, under tow, Navy sources said.
The INS Mysore later escorted the MV Gibe to safety.
The pirates are being held on board the Mysore and will be handed over to appropriate authorities ashore, possibly at Djibouti in Ivory Coast, the warship’s next port of call.
Today's operation is the fourth successful offensive by the Navy in the heart of the pirates' zone of operations. Last month, the INS Tabar, a missile-frigate, had sunk a Thai trawler that was being used as a mothership by the pirates and also rescued two merchant vessels that were under attack. The Mysore, a 6,900-tonne destroyer, replaced the Tabar on patrol in the region about a fortnight ago. Dozen of warships of several countries are also patrolling the shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden.
India's recent pro-active approach against piracy reflects the concern of the maritime community over a new surge in hijackings off Somalia. The International Maritime Bureau has reported that pirates based in the lawless African nation were now “out of control”.
New Delhi had taken a serious view of piracy-related incidents in the region following the hijacking of MV Stolt Valor, with 18 Indian sailors on board, by Somali pirates in September this year. On 23 October, the government gave a go-ahead to the Navy's request for a pro-active approach against the pirates.